Mike Monroe: Manu, 5 on 5

The Spurs’ shroud of secrecy was lifted Thursday, revealing that, for the first time all season, Manu Ginobili participated in a five-on-five scrimmage at the team’s practice facility.

Ginobili, the shooting guard so vital to Spurs’ success, has been on the injured list since undergoing surgery in September to repair a left ankle impingement that had bothered him for months before it forced him out of the Olympic competition in Beijing in August. But his ahead-of-schedule rehabilitation progress took another significant step at Thursday’s practice, considering that coach Gregg Popovich called working him into five-on-five drills at practice the final step required before he would consider allowing him to suit up for a game.

News of Ginobili’s additional progress was accidental illumination, and we would like to thank Roger Mason Jr., whose refreshing candor was responsible for our enlightenment.

“You know Manu wants to be out there,” Mason said, when asked about Ginobili’s potential return. “Today they threw him out a little bit. It was my first time playing with him, and it was fun out there, having a guy like Manu on the court. When he does come back, I think it’s going to be fun.”

Asked if that meant Ginobili had participated in five-on-five drills, the first-year Spur experienced a momentary sense of panic.

“Man, I don’t know if I’m supposed to say that,” he said. “Yeah, he did. Hopefully, I don’t get in trouble for that. He did a little bit, but we’ve seen him playing two-on-two, and you guys know that. He’s progressing nicely, and when he comes back it will be great.”

We promise to nominate Mason for the NBA All-Interview team, and lobby hard for his inclusion.